Office of Global Initiatives

Fellows

Javier Zenteno Barrios, attorney at law, is a graduate of the Escuela Libre de Derecho, with a specialization on Public Finances and Administrative Reform. He has multiple certifications in Real Estate Law, Oral Trials and Administrative Procedures.

Lic. Zenteno is a founding partner of Zenteno-Lira Mora Law Firm, (2002) specializing in energy issues, administrative contracts, and urban infrastructure/real estate cases and projects. His vast professional experience has encompassed appointments with Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) where he served as the Attorney General and Pro-Secretary of the Administrative Councils of PEMEX and its subsidiaries.

He was also the General Director of Judicial Matters for the Secretariat of the Interior under two Presidents and Chief Negotiator for the Mexican Federal Government and the “Ejercito Zapatista de Liberación Nacional” (EZLN). Lic. Zenteno was also the Secretary/Director of the Municipality of Tlalnepantla, in the State of Mexico, and representative of the Government of Queretaro in Mexico City.

Lic. Zenteno has been a Law professor for 34 years. He specializes in Constitutional and Administrative law. He has taught at Universidad Anáhuac del Norte, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and Instituto Nacional de Administración Pública.

He was the Corporate Director and Proxy of Grupo TOP(2005); and as a Partner of ZLM Law Firm, he has participated in different Constitutional and regulatory proposals, such as the revision of the Energy Reform Initiative of 2008 in Mexico.

He received the Mexican’s President's Medal of Honor for His Professional and Meritorious Service to the Legal Office.

Lic. Zenteno has published multiple articles and is co-author of the book: “Derecho a la Información y la Libertad de Expresión” (The Right to Information and Freedom of Expression). He is also a columnist for the chain of newspapers El Sol de México.